Su Mushi grabbed the first aid kit to attend to Su Ruowan wounds. “Mom is still searching together with the TV station’s staff members. I’m sure Muyan is alright.”
Scared out of her wits, Su Ruowan feebly and helplessly shed tears. “Mushi, am I really that useless? Instead of helping, I only cause trouble for everyone. Just send me away and take Shen Xi back!”
Su Mushi put on a straight face. “What are you talking about? Shen Xi can’t compare to you. The way I see it, she can’t hold a candle to even a single strand of your hair.”
Su Ruowan miserably wept. “But Mushi, Ms. Shu wants Shen Xi to be her top student. Mom and Dad have talked to her numerous times over the years, yet she won’t budge on accepting me as her student.”
Su Mushi coldly snorted. “That’s just because she’s blind. I’ve said it before. That old hag is only putting on a lofty front, fancying herself to be an other-worldly celestial while other people are mere earthlings. Why can’t she see the layers of wrinkles on her own face?”
“Mushi, don’t say that.” Su Ruowan rebukingly took a glance at him. “Teacher is not such a person.”
“You’re just too kind for your own good, thinking the world is made of good guys.” Su Mushi sighed and continued. “It’s the old hag’s loss for not accepting you. She will look back on this day with regret.”
The old hag must be blind and out of her mind to take on a disgusting brat like Shen Xi as her student.
“Mushi, perhaps Ms. Shu is right –I’m not born to dance and lack ingenuity.” Su Ruowan sniffed as she looked him in the eye. “I don’t have compare myself to others, right?”
“Yes! Our Wanwan is the most adorable and the best.” Su Mushi dotingly tapped the tip of her nose. “That old hag is as blind as a bat and won’t know what talent is even if it hits her in the face.”
With the reassurance shifting Su Ruowan from tears to smiles, she hugged him. “Mushi, will you always be good to me?”
Su Mushi gently stroked her hair. “Of course! You’re my princess!”
Su Ruowan retorted. “Don’t you lie to me.”
Su Mushi put her mind at rest. “Of course.”
Su Muyan was missing. His phone was unreachable and his person nowhere to be found.
With the production team running out of alternatives, the director came forth and asked that Li Jingran take Su Muyan’s place as a judge.
Shen Xi was the eighth in line to perform, and eight happened to be her lucky number.
She was performing a classical solo – Corn Poppy.
On stage, Shen Xi breathed life into a corn poppy, like wind and fire through a flowy and deft red dress.
At times with a lithe and unrestrained bearing, other times displaying great strength, and sometimes drooping in fragility without sacrificing flexibility, Shen Xi vividly brought the dance to life.
She was a corn poppy swaying along the breeze, persevering in the rain, dewing after the rain, and showcasing its obtrusive and flamboyant beauty under the sunlight.
The judges and audience off the stage were lost in this perfect visual feast. Away from the bustling and tedious mortal world, they were immersed in the short but dazzlingly beautiful life of a flower.
The dance of Corn Poppy.
Everyone was left blown away.
As Shen Xi positioned her supple body on the ground, the hem of the dress withered and blossomed like petals, signifying the end as well as the beginning.
Everyone present was still awed by the dance even after she gave thanks and stepped off the stage.
A genuinely great dance was capable of resonating and pulling at the heartstrings of the audience.
It was not known who led the applause but claps thundered through the entire hall.
The applause was the best validation to a dancer.
Completely awestruck, Li Jingran’s heart was beating out of control.
